True Partners: Uzumaki and Uchiha
by HiroJiyuNaka
Summary: Friends since the beginning. Each others' ladder at times, crutch at others. Now, they are teammates, and with their bloodlines unlocked, they will show the world what True Partnership is. NaruSasuHarem READ INSIDE BEFORE YOU DISMISS THIS! NOT THE YAOI YOU THINK IT IS! Lemons soon
1. Friends

AN: Despite the pairing indicator on the summary, this is not a NaruSasu Yaoi fic (completely. There is NaruSasu Yaoi.). There will be Yaoi elements, but there will also be het, Yuri, and Futa. This is pretty much a True Bisexual orientation. Now that you have seen what I wanted you to from the summary, you may do as you wish.

YOU CAN ALL HATE ME NOW! Yes, I'm starting another one, but I put Tengoku Kistune up for adoption (and it was adopted by kakashi8890 ). I just can't get into that one anymore. I'm sorry if it was one you wanted more of, but it's not going to be done any more(by me).

This will be another harem story, but with a twist. This was requested by a RL friend of mine who follows my work. You may not like where I go with it, but that's what he wants, and I am not opposed to it.

Good Sasuke in this one(le gasp!). You will see a different kind of Sakura other than the usual "Bash-her-till-she-breaks" and "redeemed-for-love" fics out there. Smart/bloodline!Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke will be sharing the harem, as per the request. Also from the request, there will be a few gender benders here.

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the Kyuubi would be a girl, blatantly sexy, and more of a bad influence.

~*~HJN~*~

Chapter 1 – Friends

"…Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, with Hatake Kakashi as your Jounin instructor." Violent reactions from one student could be seen and heard in the middle of the classroom. The girl with the vibrant pink hair slammed her head on the desk when the second name was called. But when the third name was called, the pinkette started jumping for joy at being on the same team as her crush. The blonde boy next to her simply picked his head up from the desk and looked at the dark-haired boy on the other side of the screaming girl.

Leaning forward to avoid the kunoichi in the red dress, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke bumped fists, grinning. As long as Haruno Sakura didn't get in the way, they knew they would make a great team. They had supported each other throughout the Academy, and were quite the confident pair.

When Sasuke's clan was killed, Naruto had crashed his train of revenge, showing a surprising amount of wisdom in that Itachi was a loyal shinobi, there was no way he would kill his own clan simply for power. Therefore, there must have been a deeper reason, and Sasuke had made it his current goal to find out what that was. Naruto said he would help.

Then, when Naruto was eleven, he had been trapped by a mob. Sasuke came in later and scared them off, but Naruto had given in to unconsciousness by then. They would later find that the mobs had stopped after seeing the almighty Uchiha on the demon's side.

Naruto woke to Sasuke wondering aloud about why they hated the blonde. "I think I just met the reason," he had said. A trip into his mind had revealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune within him. The fox had been exploring his DNA, trying to see if there was anything she could do to make his life more interesting. "**You don't fight back, so even the mobs are boring now."** She had explained. Being stuck in a boy's body for 11 years would grate on anyone's nerves.

That was where they had really become friends. Sharing a secret from their classmates was quite the bonding experience.

Back to the present, everyone but the soon-to-be Team 7 had already left with their senseis. Naruto and Sasuke were trying to ignore Sakura, but she was making it hard. She was so damn persistent!

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuun~ Why are you hanging with the dobe? Hang out with me, I'm much better company than him!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Dobe? He's smarter than you are, Banshee. You may have more booksmarts, but he's a much better ninja than you!" That shut her up, but he wasn't done, yet. She had insulted his friend, and if there was one thing Naruto had rubbed off onto him, it was a fierce protective instinct for his friends. "As to why I'm hanging out with him, it's because we are friends, and I hang out with my friends. You are not my friend, at least for the moment, so I will ignore you now." And he turned back around and resumed his conversation with an amused blonde.

It wasn't until then that any of them noticed the, two hours late, silver-haired, one-eyed man in dark blue Jounin attire. His face was covered by a cloth mask and his Konoha hitai-ate, leaving only his right eye uncovered. Said eye was currently curved in what they would soon decipher as a smile. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, but I had to help an old lady cross the street on my way, then I found out she was an enemy ninja, so I had to take her to the Hok-"

"You know what? We don't care. Are you Hatake Kakashi? Cause if you are, then we would like to do the secondary test tomorrow. Sasuke's got training with Gai-weirdo to help unlock his Sharingan, and I've got some stuff to take care of." Naruto was half turned around, talking in a bored, 'no wiggle-room' voice that he reserved for the Hokage, and a select few individuals that were either blatantly lying, or simply rude. Sakura was stunned, Sasuke was grinning. This was the most interesting thing that had happened all day.

He was talking about Kakashi's cool demeanor falling flat on its ass as his one eye blinked dumbly. Taking a second to recover, he cleared his throat and threw secrecy out the window. "How did… How did you know there was a second Genin test?"

Sasuke answered this time. "Because no self-respecting village would let all of those useless" he pointedly looked at Sakura, who had not broken from her dazed state just yet, before continuing, "civilians onto the ninja roster. My guess is that about 33% of the teams will pass the second test. Naruto here is betting on 45%."

Kakashi relaxed. At least Sasuke knew, as well. "Hm. Well you are right. The second test is designed to eliminate two-thirds of the starting teams."

"Told you, man, pay up."

"Kuso." Naruto reached into his froggy wallet and pulled out a few coins, tossing them to Sasuke, who pocketed them.

Sakura was still dazed.

Kakashi took stock of his new team. 'The gaki is smarter than I thought, probably smarter than the girl, from the look of her. What the hell is she staring at? Sasuke seems to be more social than the council thought, he's acting all buddy-buddy with the blonde. While I really only want one of them, I can't drop the gaki yet, he needs to push Sasuke higher, first. The girl should be good for rebuilding his clan, she seems to be willing. Although, she's probably inexperienced, so I'll just have to arrange some tutoring for her. Assuming she has enough cognitive thought left to pay attentio- oh, never mind, there she is.'

Sakura snapped free of her stupor, finally. Looking around and landing her eyes on Sasuke, she yelled, "SASUKE-KUN! IS NARUTO BOTHERING YOU? YOU LOOK ANNOYED!"

Naruto had hold back his laughter as Sasuke just ignored her, giving a slight flinch at her voice.

Naruto turned back to their soon-to-be sensei. "So, where should we meet tomorrow?"

Kakashi frowned inwardly. The kid was a little too casual with all this. "Meet at training ground 7, outside Konoha at 6 AM. And don't eat breakfast. Unless you like throwing up." And he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto's face split into a shit-eating grin. "Oi, Sasuke. You go find Gai-weirdo, and get that Sharingan. I'll let you know tomorrow if I find anything on that other thing."

The raven haired boy nodded. "Right. Don't forget the ninja wire." He finished with a smile.

Naruto laughed and bumped fists with the boy at their inside joke. The two of them left, Sasuke going to the training grounds to try and have a near-death experience, Naruto heading to the Hokage Tower. Leaving a highly confused pinkette in the, now empty, classroom.

~~HJN~~

Finally getting home, Naruto dropped his Transparency Genjutsu, the only low-level one he could use, and flopped onto the couch. He opened the scroll in his hands and started reading.

Creating a Kage Bunshin, he had it start on dinner while another left to prepare a battle scroll.

He finished eating his ramen the same time the second clone came in with the small scroll. A few minutes later, he had that clone take the scroll he had been reading back to the Hokage's office. 'Well, that helped! I understand the concept, but that! That was more than I had hoped for.' Feeling his clone dispel, he cleaned himself up and went to bed. If everything went well tomorrow, he and Sasuke would be the greatest team since the Shodaime and Nidaime.

~~HJN~~

Naruto exited the trees and landed in front of his teammates. Seeing the beaten, dead-tired state his friend was in, he lifted an eyebrow.

Sasuke grinned and nodded. "Took a whole hour of boulder dodging from both of them while avoiding getting impaled by traps, but I got it. What about you, any luck?"

Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a small black candy, a Soldier Pill, and tossed it to Sasuke. "Oh yeah. By the end of this test, it'll be mine."

As Sasuke ate the pill and instantly felt better, Sakura wondered what they could possibly be talking about. But she's not important to the story at this point, so we'll skip her thoughts (which are bound to be Banshee in stereo with that Inner Sakura of hers.).

Exactly two hours later, their prospective sensei landed next to them. "Hey, mina. Sorry I'm so late, but I encountered a black cat on my way here and had to walk tw-"

"We don't care. Can we get on with this test, now?" This time it was Sasuke who interrupted him. But Kakashi didn't mind. It just meant that the boy was assertive, meaning it would be that much easier for him in life.

"Now now, shouldn't we introduce ourselves, first?"

"How do we do that, sensei?" Sakura managed to say in a normal voice.

That didn't excuse her, though. "Jeez, how dumb can you get? You really have to ask how to introduce yourself?" Sasuke snickered at Naruto, the kid really knew how to make him laugh.

Kakashi ignored him and answered anyway. "Well, I'll start. My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes are my own, and I have dislikes, too. My hobbies really aren't for you to hear, and my goals? I really don't feel like telling you them." He ended with that smiling eye of his that only served to anger two of his students.

Naruto scoffed. It sounded weird from him, but it was effective nonetheless. "We get your point, a shinobi should never expose too much about himself, right? Well that's all well and good, but how can you expect us to trust you as our sensei when you don't trust us enough to talk about yourself? Whatever. Sasuke, you go first."

Sakura had been watching this exchange with a mixture of surprise and anger. Surprise that Naruto had seen something she hadn't, anger at that fact.

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine. I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like barbeque, Naruto, and other things. I dislike those who give ninja a bad name, and those who discriminate people for something out of their control. My hobbies are hanging out with Naruto and training. My goal is to find my brother and confront him about our clan, and to help Naruto with his goal."

Kakashi nodded, but inside he had stopped paying attention at this point.

Sakura was confused. 'He likes Naruto, but he dislikes people who give ninja a bad name? That's Naruto! Sasuke-kun isn't making sense!'

Naruto stared at her. "Well, guess it's my turn, since the Banshee is broken again. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, Sasuke, and other things. My dislikes are much the same as Sasuke's. My hobbies are hanging out with Sasuke, and training. My goal is to become Hokage so I can turn this disgrace of a village around, and to help Sasuke with his goal."

Kakashi resisted the urge to laugh at the blonde's goal, he had heard more ridiculous things in his lifetime.

Sakura snapped out of it to see everyone staring at her. "OH! My name is Haruno Sakura, and my likes are" she looks at Sasuke and giggles, as though it were a secret, "My dislikes are NARUTO NO BAKA!"

"Hm? What? Did you say something Sakura?" Kakashi's eye twitched at hearing the line he used whenever Gai was around. It brought unpleasant thoughts into his head.

"My hobbies are" more giggling, "And my goals are—" She had to wipe her nose from the blood dripping down it.

All three males sweatdropped. Kakashi spoke first. "R-right. Okay, here's your test. See these two bells? You have to get them from me before noon. Whoever doesn't have a bell by noon will be tied to a post while their teammates eat their lunch." Well, there's the reason for no breakfast, which Naruto had completely ignored. Sasuke at least had a granola bar in his pouch. "Those with a bell will pass, and those without will be sent back to the Academy. Go."

All three Genin hopefuls dashed away from the man. 'Well. This should be fun.'

~~HJN~~

Naruto snuck through the trees, making Kage Bunshins along the way. 'Sure wish I knew the natural way to do this, but it seems no one did. Oh well. Sasuke should be able to keep Kakashi-sensei busy long enough to do this.'

And with that, he finished the perimeter he was setting up. Off in the distance he could hear the sounds of battle, but ignored them. Jumping into a clearing, he set about laying down the scrolls and seals. 'This is gonna take almost two hours, leaving me with only another hour to get a bell. What kind of test is this, it's so obvious what the goal is!' Then he realized he would somehow have to find a way to get Sakura to work with him for the teamwork evaluation. 'Well, maybe it's not as easy as I thought…"

~~HJN~~

Sasuke jumped back from another failed taijutsu bout. He was starting to pant hard, but he didn't want to use it just yet. 'Gotta wait for Naruto. Let's see how long I can stall him.' Looking at his opponent, he examined the posture. Kakashi was just taking that orange book out again. 'There!'

He jumped forward and threw a punch to the man's neck, which was blocked with a forearm. Luckily, it was the arm the book was in. "YOINK!" he yelled childishly as Sasuke snatched the book from the silver-haired man's hand, and disappeared into the trees.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! MY PORN!" Kakashi raced after the boy, anger filling his eye at His Precious being taken away.

Sasuke smirked. Seeing a Naruto clone on 'patrol duty' he thrust the book into the Bunshin's hands and yelled a "RUN!" before dashing off for the clearing he had just been in.

Kakashi saw this, being only a few trees away, and rushed at what he thinks of as Naruto.

The clone, henceforth referred to as Shadow, ran after Sasuke, laughing at the impromptu game of keep-away.

And so it continued for an hour, with Sasuke and Shadow throwing the book back and forth between them, Kakashi torn by the need to have his smut back, and the paperwork if he killed them.

Finally, he had enough. Throwing a few handsigns together, he yelled out, "SUITON: SUIRYUDAN NO JUTSU! **(Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)**" A giant liquid dragon came furling out of the river at his left, heading straight for the two shinobi.

Sasuke saw it first, and dropped the book. Jumping away, he watched as the clone and book were both struck by the jutsu, the clone dispersing in smoke.

Kakashi dimly noted that Naruto somehow knew the Kage Bunshin. He was too busy mourning over his soaked Icha Icha Tactics.

~~MEANWHILE~~

Naruto flinched as his clones swept away the evidence of what had transpired here. It seems Sasuke had been playing with one of his little slaves and Kakashi. He chuckled at the memory. 'Well, I should go and find Sakura. If what that scroll said was true, it should be fairly easy for me to convince her to help us.'

Dispersing the rest of his clones, he sifted through the memories until he found a patrol unit that had found her. Racing off in that direction, he soon arrived on the branch she was using.

Sakura nearly jumped when the baka landed next to her. Her, small, ninja instincts told her not to kill him on sight. No matter how annoying he is, he's still a teammate, and Sasuke seemed to like him, so he must not be all bad.

"Sakura, we need to work together." He continued before she could interrupt, activating his new ability as he did so, "This will be hard, I know. But the probability of this test being about teamwork is 98%. If the Academy graduation was for ninja skills, than this must be to determine if the assigned teams are compatible. Right now, Sasuke is in trouble, and while I could help him myself, we need you to pass this test, okay? Will you help me?"

Sakura was about to argue with him about he being able to help alone, but she saw something in his eyes as he was talking. She didn't seem to want to question it. His logic made perfect sense, and it was something she had been suspecting for the past while.

"S-Sure. Let's go."

Naruto flashed his foxy grin. Not only has he just pretty much guaranteed all of them to pass, but his bloodline worked! 'Thank you mom. This is indeed a powerful ability, and I will be sure to use it wisely.'

~~HJN~~

Sasuke jumped away from another water dragon. 'Naruto, you better get here soon. I am so close to needing it, it's not even funny.'

As if on cue, Naruto and Sakura jumped out of the treeline and landed on either side of him. Naruto turned to his friend. "Hey, man! Damn, you look terrible."

"Yeah, good thing you showed up when you did. Did you get it?"

Naruto grinned. "Oh, hell yes."

Sasuke nodded. "Right. Let's show Kakashi-sensei just how strong we are together." Closing his eyes, he focused his chakra. "SHARINGAN!" Snapping them open, he revealed his red irises, and the two black tomoe sitting around the pupil.

Kakashi nearly tripped "A-Already?"

Naruto got into a fighting stance. "YOSH!" Closing his eyes, he, too focused his chakra. "NENTOGAN!" Opening them once more, he exposed the fruits of his labor. His blue irises had expanded, no white could be seen. His pupil also enlarged, about to the size that his irises were originally, and they changed from black to silver. In the center was an orange star. It had three points, and was slightly larger than his original pupil.

"WHAT? I've never seen that before!" Kakashi was seriously freaking out, now.

Naruto was amazed! These eyes were more than he could have imagined. Sure, he knew that most of the changes his bloodline brought was to his mind, hence the name Mind's Eye, but still! It was like the outside world and his own thoughts were being displayed together, at the same time. He could see his own imagination. A dangerous thing normally, but this was battle, and he was always focused during battle. That was another thing, his focus was enhanced! He could feel his brain working like three times as hard and fast as normal, allowing him to take in and process more information at a time. There was something else, too. He could see(sense, think, whatever) measurements. He knew that Kakashi was exactly 5'10", and that he was precisely 14.3 meters away. He was noticing so much more, and everything in his vision was his focal point. Shadows held nothing hidden, no light was blinding, and so many possibilities were laid out in front of him! Since the bloodline mostly affected his brain, his other senses were enhanced, too, including his sixth 'Ninja Sense'.

Sasuke had unlocked his doujutsu last night, but he was still impressed. Nothing escaped his view, and no deception could be kept hidden for long. He could feel his eyes ready to burn images into his memory, in case he ever wanted to copy something. The smallest movement was seen, and everything was slower to his eyes.

Sakura saw both of these, and wanted to confront them both about it, but Naruto touched her arm, and asked ,"Do you trust me?" There were those eyes again. It's like they pulled on what was already seeded in her mind and brought it to the front. She found that yes, she did trust the blonde. Don't get her wrong, she still hated his guts, but she also knew that he would never intentionally lead her astray, so she trusted him. She nodded, slightly uncertain.

Naruto turned to his other teammate. "Sasuke, you ready for the link?"

He never took his eyes off of Kakashi, who was still standing there, waiting for something to happen. This was their test, after all, and if they wanted to stand around, he had no reason to provoke them. Sasuke nodded. "Do it, man."

Naruto put a hand on the back of Sasuke's head and started channeling chakra. His hand glowed blue, and soon so did Sasuke's head. "Kyoyu Omoi**(Shared Thoughts)**"

Naruto felt a jolt in the back of his head, and his vision blurred for a while. But, just like the scroll had said, when it seemed Sasuke had accepted the jutsu, his vision cleared, and a new set of thoughts could be seen in his eyes. They looked different to him in a way that was hard to understand. The color, the frequency, maybe? Perhaps it was just how they felt to him, but nonetheless, he knew they were the thoughts Sasuke was currently choosing to share with him._/Is it working? Hello, testing, testing! Shit, this is weird../_ He heard/felt them in his mind in Sasuke's voice, and saw them in his enhanced vision. Sensing the link, he pushed a thought through it. _/Yeah, it's working. This is pretty cool, I can hear you, and see you in my enhanced vision. Which is a weird thing in itself, it's almost like a display on a computer, like the ones at the hospital, overlaid on top of my regular sight, which is also increased. Be careful with this, you can only talk to me if you consciously choose to. I can't read your mind without permission, and vice-versa./_

Sasuke jerked when he felt the jutsu knock on his mind, as though asking permission. Not really knowing what to expect from the limited description Naruto had given him, he embraced the foreign chakra, and felt the link open. Mentally, he thought of Naruto, and pushed a thought through. _/Is it working? Hello, testing, testing!/_ He could seriously feel the thoughts leaving him and going somewhere else. _/Shit, this is weird../_ Sasuke didn't even have to wait for the reply, it seemed. In Naruto's voice, a thought entered his mind. _/Yeah, it's working. This is pretty cool, I can hear you, and see you in my enhanced vision. Which is a weird thing in itself, it's almost like a display on a computer, like the ones at the hospital, overlaid on top of my regular sight, which is also increased. Be careful with this, you can only talk to me if you consciously choose to. I can't read your mind without permission, and vice-versa./_ That whole thought was transferred, processed, and understood in less than a blink of an eye.

Sasuke said through the link, _/Dude, this moves fast! I received and understood that whole thing instantly. Barely any time moved outside. Is this what it's like with that bloodline of yours? This speedy thought?/_

Naruto replied, _/Yeah, I noticed that. And yes, it is, only more-so. This should prove to be useful! Now, let's get those bells./_ "Sasuke, Sakura. Let's do this."

Sakura finished blinking when Naruto started talking. Whatever he was about to do to Sasuke, she must have missed it. "H-Hai!"

Sasuke nodded. Until they could include Sakura into the secret, she would probably remain outside of the bond. "Hai."

All three teammates dashed forward, Naruto going in straight, Sasuke curving off to the side. Sakura got the hint after a few steps and did the same, completing the formation. Naruto threw a punch at the Jounin, who blocked. Sasuke came in from behind with a kick to the lower back, which Kakashi twisted away from. But Naruto had grabbed onto his blocking arm, and used the spinning momentum to swing a kick at the man's head. Meanwhile, Sasuke was throwing a punch to his kidney on the opposite site. Both were blocked, albeit barely. Seeing her opening, Sakura lunged forward for the bells, but apparently forgot about the Jounin's other two appendages. Kakashi swung his leg up and nailed her in the chin, sending her flying. Naruto and Sasuke jumped back, and with no pause, launched back into the fight.

Kakashi was having trouble keeping up at his current handicap. 'It's incredible! They are completely in sync! Whenever one attacks, the other would strike at a place where I would be hard pressed to block both! Sasuke, he sees and reacts to each movement almost instantly, but that's to be expected with the Sharingan. Naruto, though, he's reacting almost just as fast, and he almost seems to know already what I am likely to do! I swear there was a couple of times where I had to dodge Sasuke, and found myself running into an already-prepared fist! Alone, they are good. Together, it seems, they are amazing! It's like they can read each others' mind!'

Naruto was just about to execute a forward axe kick when Sasuke made an interesting suggestion. _/Hey, Naruto. Let's combine our ninjutsu, show him just how in sync we are./_

The Number One Unpredictable Shinobi grinned internally. _/That sounds like a great idea, Sasuke. Fire Scythe?/_

_/Sure./_

So Naruto and Sasuke jumped back from the taijutsu bout, and started going through handsigns. Sasuke landed on the Tiger seal, while Naruto stopped on Ox. At the same time, they said, "Katon:" "Fuuton:", and Sasuke brought his left hand up to his face, first two fingers extended and pressed to his lips, while Naruto took out a kunai and held it in a straight grip. Once more, Sasuke and Naruto said at once, "Gokakyuu no Jutsu!**(Fireball Jutsu)**" "Kazakama no Jutsu!**(Wind Scythe Jutsu)**"

Sasuke took a deep breath, and exhaled, a large fireball forming from his lips and flying at Kakashi, who was idiotically standing there in a daze. Immediately, Naruto swung the kunai horizontally, an arc of wind coming off the metal and heading for the fire jutsu. The Wind Scythe caught up to the Fireball, and the fire jutsu was strengthened by the wind jutsu. The fire sped up, and grew more violent. The shape changed, as well, into that of a kind of lazy scythe. Kakashi jumped away at the last second, finally snapped out of his amazement at the two boys in front of him. The combined jutsus impacted the ground, creating a swirling mass of fire and a medium-sized crater. The fire died down, and Kakashi stood there, clapping. "Very good. I didn't think Genin could do stuff like that, but that was quite impressive. A wasted effort, but impressive nonetheless."

Naruto grinned. "Oh, I wouldn't say it was wasted. You can come out now, Sakura."

A head of pink poked out from behind a bush, and Sakura walked into the clearing. Holding out the two bells from Kakashi's waist.

"WHA-?"

Naruto took the bells from her. "Thank you. You see, Kakashi-sensei. We knew almost from the start what this test was about. Anyone with brains enough to remember the requirements for a Konoha shinobi squad would remember that they must be at least a three-man team composed of Chuunin and higher, with a qualified Jounin-sensei if two or more members are Genin. So you couldn't possibly have sent one of us back to the Academy. Sakura here, while not nearly as in sync as Sasuke and I, is smart, and can adapt to many different situations. She picked up on what we were doing, and saw your hesitation when Sasuke and I combined our ninjutsu. Taking advantage of your stupor, she grabbed the bells and made off back into the trees where you thought you had dispatched her to."

Kakashi would have laughed if the whole thing wasn't so impressive. "So, you had the whole thing planned out from the beginning? You staged this entire fight."

Sasuke answered. "Not true. We knew we would all be fighting you in the end, and we had HOPED Naruto would unlock his Nentogan before the end of the test, but that's it. Everything else was spur-of-the-moment, action-reaction."

Kakashi sprung on the trap he had set for his friend. "Nentogan? Is that what that thing with your eyes was Naruto? I think I deserve an explanation, as your sensei."

"Well, I have to go and tell old man Hokage about it, anyway, so you're all welcome to come along for the debriefing- wait. So that means we pass? ALRIGHT! SASUKE-KUN, SAKURA, WE PASSED! WE'RE GENIN! YAHOO!" Naruto grabbed his friend and teammate and spun them around with him, before doing a little jig.

Kakashi chuckled. 'This should be quite the meeting…"

~*~HJN~*~

AN: SO~ How was it? I know most of my followers won't like where this goes, but it was a request, and I've already said I take all requests. I try to write in each story equally, unless I have a new story to get out, then I'll focus on that. After the first chapter, though, I'll normally write a little in every story each day.

Let me know what you thought, just remember that flames, while useful in identifying the jackasses on this site, will be used strictly to cook hot dogs and baked beans.

EDIT: YAY! It looks like I have fixed the scene-change problem with the markers not carrying over from the file to the site! REJOICE, MY FRIENDS! REJOICE!

Ja ne~


	2. Partners

AN: Yo! I am severely disappointed. When I get told that someone put my story on their alert list, and favorites list, AND DIDN'T BOTHER TO LEAVE A REVIEW? That hurts. That hurts bad. I want to know what you guys want to see in this story. It will probably be the longest one out of mine, and is already planned to go past where canon is at. So NATURALLY, I need options, ideas, and opinions for what should be here. Do you want Zabuza to die/live/liveinKonoha? Should Haku be in the harem, and if so, should Haku be a boy, a girl, or a futa? COME ON! I know, I said on my profile that I knew the numbers for each gender, but that was a roulette, and I don't know WHO will be there(for the most part)! So give me a break, and send me a constructive review, 'kay?

Some of you may feel like they beat Kakashi too easily. I tend to leave out blow-trading when it goes on for five minutes or more. I just say that it happened. Also, it is my opinion that if they truly worked together in the canon, they COULD have beat him first. Naruto and Sasuke got close (both using surprise. Sasuke with the fireball, Naruto with the Kage Bunshin hold.), so if they worked together, they could have done it.

Enjoy~

~*~HJN~*~

Chapter 2 – Partners

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back in his chair, pipe between his lips. His Jounin would be turning in their team assessments soon. He smiled as he thought of the genius he had displayed with the teams. The council may want to bring Naruto down as far as possible, but they would not tolerate Sasuke failing. So, Iruka's choice about Mizuki and Naruto gave him the perfect opportunity to throw their own arrogance in their face.

Sarutobi knew that Naruto and Sasuke were the best of friends, but the council didn't. He suspected maybe Danzo did, but that was of no concern at the moment. By putting them on the same team, he had pretty much assured that Naruto would pass. Not because of Sasuke's talent, but because he knew the Civilian and Elder councils would to everything they could to make Sasuke succeed. Including recruiting Hatake Kakashi to rig the test.

While normally this wouldn't sit well with the aged Hokage, he figured that Naruto and Sasuke would be able to pass the real test anyway, so any foul play by Kakashi wouldn't have mattered. And with any luck, Naruto would be passing the test with his new bloodline using the information in that scroll that he had 'stolen' from the Hokage.

A knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts. "Come-"

Before he could finish, the double oak doors were kicked open, revealing a smirking Naruto and Sasuke, a surprised Sakura and a sweatdropping Kakashi behind them. "Oi! Old man Hokage! Thought we'd all give our reports in person. You don't mind, right?" Not waiting for an answer, Naruto plopped down in one of the seats in the room.

Sarutobi sighed. "No, Naruto, I don't. Though I wish you would stop kicking my door in. It won't stand up to much more, you know. So, I suppose I'll hear about Kakashi first, then."

The silver-haired Jounin stepped forward. "They pass."

"Really? This is the first team you've ever passed, Kakashi."

"They are the first I've tested that HAVE passed. They showed an exemplary ability in many areas. And they quickly saw the test for what it was. Their teamwork could use work, but there is always room for improvement in that area with any team. Besides, it was enough to keep me on the defensive without using my trump card."

Sarutobi nodded. "Very well. I will ask for details later. Naruto, Sasuke. I trust everything went well?"

They nodded. Naruto spoke for them, that shit-eating grin still firmly in place. "Gai-weirdo got the job done. Sasuke's Sharingan is at two tomoe. It'll take a much more real situation to get to three, and the Mankekyou, as you know, is only achieved by experiencing the greatest grief. Hence his brother's warning about killing his best friend. The Amaterasu, though, we still have no idea."

The Hokage nodded. "And you?"

The blonde's grin got even wider, if possible. Focusing, he re-engaged his Nentogan, eyes closed. Opening them, he revealed the new set-up. "It worked. It's only at three-point, but that's just fine. It's been documented how it evolves from this point. The only reason I needed that scroll was to unlock it, since I have no idea how it's done naturally. Thank you, by the way. Now that I have it though, you know what must happen. With Sasuke, too." He added as he let his Nentogan recede.

Sarutobi sighed. "Right. The council is going to go apeshit over this, you know that, right? But, it WAS their law, so it'll be hard for them to dispute it. Anyone you two have in mind?"

Sasuke spoke first. "Henko Furosashi. He has no family of his own, and has always been sympathetic to us."

Naruto answered next. "Umino Iruka. He's been a brother to me since I started the Academy, and he's always been on our side."

Hiruzen nodded. He had expected as much. "Hawk-san." An ANBU in a Hawk mask shifted out of the shadows, startling Sakura. "Please go and retrieve Umino Iruka and Henko Furosashi." The ANBU nodded, and shifted back into the corner, seemingly leaving.

Kakashi approached the Fire Shadow. "Hokage-sama, what is going on, if I may ask?"

"Sasuke here is a Genin. That means he is an adult in the eyes of Shinobi. He can gamble, drink, and marry, as well as other things. As he is the last loyal member of an already-established clan, he has a seat on the Shinobi Council. But, seeing as how he is a Genin, and is currently enrolled contractually on the ninja roster, he cannot take up his seat. He is still the Head of the Uchiha clan, heir no longer, but he must have a representative to take his place on the council. This representative must be of the clan, but an Honorary Member works when no loyal relatives can be found. Naruto here is also a Genin. Seeing as how he was born here in Konoha, and is from a clan as well, he has the option to take up a seat on the council, which he has accepted. Again, he cannot take the seat personally, and being the only loyal clan member, he has no relatives. Once more, the Honorary Member law comes into play. Sasuke has chosen Henko Furosashi as his representative, and Naruto has chosen Umino Iruka."

Kakashi stood there, dumbstruck. These two had been planning this from the beginning. Naruto wanted to turn the village around, and Sasuke wanted to help him, they had said that this morning! And here was how. With most of the Shinobi Council already on their side, it was the Civilian Council that had kept progress behind bars. Now, with two more seats on the Shinobi Council, they would have the majority— "But the councils must be even. The Civilians will get two more seats, too."

The Kami no Shinobi smiled. "That's what I'm counting on. The Civilians don't have a lot of candidates. Most of the major influential people are already on it. However, they don't know that the Uchiha are allied with the Uzumaki. So, they will be looking for one person they believe they will be able to bring to their side. The second person will be of no consequence, since they will also think that the Uchiha rep will side with them. This second person will be one of ours, possibly the first, as well. I have already recommended 7 people to them, and have bartered a deal. They will choose one, and the second will be my choice. Again, they believe this will still keep them at least tied for votes. This is not the case. Not only is Sasuke and his rep NOT on their side, but every one of the civilians of note on this list are secret Naruto supporters. A few shopkeepers, especially ninja stores, the president of a major construction company here in Konoha, and some restaurant owners. All of them have met, and like, Naruto. None of them are open supporters and have thus far fooled the council. Sasuke is of little concern as far as votes. He doesn't have many enemies here in Konoha. But this plan will fix Naruto's problem."

Naruto cleared his throat for attention. "Old man…. There's something else, too. I'll be okay for now, so don't worry about the house, but I still deserve _those_. They belong to my clan. Sasuke too."

Sarutobi nodded. "Gladly. Maybe now I'll finally have some space for my personals." He got up and walked over to a hidden door, identified by a nail in the wall as the knob. From the open closet, he pulled out two large scrolls, each about the size of an Academy student. One had the Uchiha fan on it, and was red and black. The other was colored silver and orange, sealed with an orange and blue spiral, like a whirlpool. The symbol of the Uzumaki, as worn on Naruto's left shoulder and back. "Here. Take good care of these, boys."

Naruto took the Uzumaki scroll, Sasuke the Uchiha. Naruto spoke through the mental link. _/Can I stay in your compound for now? I know I said that I'd be fine, but I seriously don't want to trust my apartment with this./_

He waited much longer than he normally would for a response. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah man?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'll have to check that later," he said under his breath before facing his friend and voicing his failed mental question.

The ravenhead smiled. "Sure, Naruto. It'll be nice having someone else in the house. Unless you want your own, I can do that, too."

Naruto shook his head. "Naw, yours will be fine. Thanks old man. We'll be leaving, now."

Kakashi yelled to them as they opened the door. "Training starts tomorrow at 7 AM!"

Naruto laughed. "So that means 9, right? You'll be two hours late anyways!" and left.

Kakashi looked to the pink-haired girl who had been respectfully quiet through the meeting. "Dismissed, Sakura. And loosen up, it's not good for a ninja to be so uptight."

Startled, she nodded. "H-Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" and left as well.

Kakashi turned back to the Hokage, who had taken his seat once more. "So, Hokage-sama. About the council…"

~~HJN~~

Naruto and Sasuke hopped from roof to roof, scrolls on their backs. "Hey, Sasuke."

"Hn?"

"Can you still feel the link?"

A pause, then, "No. Did you cancel it?"

"No. But I can still feel it. Here, hold on." Activation his Nentogan, he threw another message to the link. _/Can you hear me now?/_

_/Yeah, I can. Does it only work with your Nentogan active?/_

_/Apparently. Deactivating it doesn't seem to sever the connection, but it does put it on a sort of mute. I'll look through the scroll and see if I can't find a more permanent version./_

_/Yeah, hopefully there is one. You can't walk around with the Nentogan on at all times./_

_/Right. Let's get to your house, I'm hungry./ _Deactivating the bloodline, they continued across the rooftops.

~~HJN~~

"NO WAY! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN HOT SPRING?"

Sasuke chuckled. "Hehe, yeah. Hey, quit gawking and get over here! We need to figure this out."

"Right, right." Naruto said before turning away from the window and returning to the task at hand. Sitting down on the couch next to Sasuke, he took a look at the paper on the table. "Look man, it's simple. You'll take your room, and I'll take the guest room upstairs. Iruka and Furosashi don't need to live on the compound."

"Yeah, but I want them to. I would put them in Itachi's and my parent's old rooms, but I feel like no one should have to sleep in my brother's, and I don't feel comfortable having anyone but my parent's in their room. Oh, by the way, while you were exploring, somebody came and gave us these. Iruka and Furosashi agreed, as we knew they would. Hokage-sama needs our sign-off for them to be our reps. Here's yours. I unsealed your clan ring for you."

Signing and sealing the paper handed to him, Naruto looked up at a loud THUNK. One of his clones had dropped a box from his old apartment. "Look, Sasuke. If you don't want them in your parents' room, take it yourself! One of them can stay in your room, and then we only have to add one more room to the house. Easy, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. Who will do the building, though? We can't ask Namino, he's on the list of candidates for the council, and they might get suspicious."

Naruto frowned. "Sasuke, you're so forgetful. I HAVE KAGE BUNSHINS! They can turn on the Nentogan, although only when I have it on, too, for some reason, and figure it out on-site. Problem solved."

Sasuke laughed at his friend's eagerness to get this item off the To-Do list. "Alright, alright. You can add the room. Here," he points to a spot on the paper showing the layout of the house. "Do it here."

"Sure thing partner. TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

A hundred clones poofed into existence and filed out of the house, Nentogan's blaring, matching their creator's eyes.

Sasuke shook his head, laughing. "It still amazes me how easily you can spam those."

The blonde grinned. "It comes with enormous stamina, and a demon sealed within you."

"So, partner, what's next on the list?"

Naruto walked over to the two large scrolls they had set up against the wall. Dragging them over to the couch, he set the Uchiha one in front of Sasuke. "Next, we study. I need to find a permanent Shared Thoughts, and it wouldn't hurt you to get a few Katon jutsu under your belt."

Sasuke sighed, and opened his family scroll.

About two hours later, Naruto jumped up in excitement. "EUREKA! I knew my clansmen were smart enough to figure it out!"

Sasuke sighed. "You're going to make me ask, aren't you. Alright, what did you find?"

"I was just reading up on some of my clan history, and a major milestone in our advancement was a permanent Shared Thoughts, apparently even better that the original. There's a lot of subtext, but the gist of it is that it is always active, and you still have to choose to share. Want to try it?"

Sasuke nodded. "Are your clones going to remember how to build the new room if you deactivate their Nentogan?"

"They should. The plans will be in their memory, so they can just go off of that. Okay, here we go."

Standing, he kept his eyes on the scroll so as to perform it correctly, and did the handsigns. "Ki Yugo no Jutsu.**(Mind meld jutsu)**." Placing his palm on Sasuke's forehead, he pushed the jutsu through.

Sasuke felt the chakra ask for permission and let it in. It felt different this time, as though the link was in many places at once, instead of in the back of his head like a tether.

Naruto finished the jutsu and canceled the Nentogan. _/Can you still hear me?/_ he thought, hopefully.

Sasuke felt a sensation. Small, very small, but there, nonetheless. Like a cautious warmth, one that could go out at any moment. Then he heard the question. His reply was sent instantly. _/Yeah. I think I can feel you, too. Were you cautious when you sent that?/_

Naruto frowned. _/Yeah, cautiously hopeful, I guess. That's weird, I can feel your confusion and surprise. Here, hold on./_ Naruto picked up the scroll and looked through it a few more times, Nentogan shining to see if there was anything he missed. _/Okay, mistranslation here. I thought they meant 'choose to send', but they meant 'choose what's sent'. So basically, if at any point either of us want to stop sharing our outer thoughts, or start sharing anything, we can so choose. Try thinking of sharing our sense of touch, then pinch me./_

Sasuke did so. "AH! Okay, that was weird./_/ I could feel somebody pinch my arm./_ Half-way through, he slipped into thought-speak, almost through habit.

Naruto nodded. _/We will have to remember to keep that off most of the time. Wouldn't want us to feel when the other person is getting hit in a fight. Okay, I'm gonna try sharing a memory./_

Sasuke felt the link activate, and suddenly he was reliving when he and a clone had stolen Kakashi's book earlier that day, except it was through the clone's eyes. _/Okay, that works. Here, let me try something./_

Naruto waited for half a second, but didn't feel anything. Then he noticed it. It was very small, but he was getting an emotion or something through the link. He didn't notice right away because it was the same emotion he himself was feeling. _/You're excited. I can feel that on top of my own excitement, although it's more subtle that way. Cool, so this is what they meant by 'even better than the original.' It is literally more advanced!/_

Naruto and Sasuke would have spent another hour exploring this ability, but their day finally caught up to them. Saying goodnight and sending a Kage Bunshin to the Hokage's office with the signed papers for the council, and a request for permits to build on Sasuke's house, they went to bed. Naruto in the upstairs guest room, Sasuke in his parents' room across the hall.

~~HJN~~

Naruto woke up first. Seeing this, he sent a Kage Bunshin to the kitchen to scrounge up some breakfast, while he took a shot at the shower.

It was obviously more expensive than his own bathroom. Hell, just the shower part was the SIZE of his bathroom. The whole bathroom was a traditional Japanese tiled affair, with the whole place built to get wet and washed on. It was about the size of his apartment's bedroom and living room combined. That wasn't surprising, though. The guest bedroom was bigger than his whole apartment room! Showering(and having much fun with the different settings. He wasn't sure what the point of having a 'Light Mist' on the three showerheads was, seeing as how they barely did anything besides coat his body in a sheen and fog up the bathroom. But the place was rich, so who cares.), he got out and dressed again. "Gonna start taking things seriously. Today is as good a time as any to debut that outfit," he said to no one in particular.

Climbing down the stairs, he noticed that Sasuke STILL wasn't up. "Okay, you lazy bum. /_/SASUKE! WAKE UP!/_ Turning on the 'share touch' feature, as he had dubbed it, he had his clone give him a good slap to the face.

Above them, a scream was heard, then a thump, then a hurt gasp. "NARUTOOO!"

He sweatdropped. "Maybe that was a bit too much…"

The clone, Shadow, spoke. "It's okay, sir. He can't be mad when he sees breakfast."

It was true, five minutes later, a previously furious Uchiha was munching on chocolate chip pancakes. "Okay, fine. You're forgiven."

~~HJN~~

Naruto and Sasuke packed up their ninja gear, and looked each other over. Sasuke, in his new outfit, a black muscle shirt with red trim, and a red unzipped, short sleeve jacket with black trim. He had on black elbow guards with four depressed holes in them, each one red, as well as the band on either side. His socks were black, and his sandals were the same dark red as the rest. He had on black shorts, similar to the blue ones he used to wear. The Uchiha blue and white fan was on the back of the jacket. He had replaced the blue cloth his headband plate was on with a black one, with red tips in the back.

Naruto was in an outfit similar to his old one, only the jacket was sleeveless, making it more of a closed-front vest, and the shirt underneath was long-sleeved. Said shirt was an off-white, almost silver. The vest was blue, with the middle stripe and trim being a dark orange and silver, respectively, and the Uzumaki blue and orange spiral on the back. His pants were less thick, and blue, with an orange stripe going down the outside of his legs. The top and bottom trim was silver. His socks and sandals were the same, however. The blue cloth of his headband now had silver tips.

They had bought these outfits a while ago, planning to unveil them when they announced to the world of the partnership between Uchiha and Uzumaki. It was symbolized by the fact that Naruto had the Uchiha fan on his left shoulder, while Sasuke had the Uzumaki spiral on his left shoulder.

Naruto grinned. "We look good."

Sasuke smirked. "This is sure to give everyone a surprise." He said, gesturing to their exchanged clan symbols.

The blonde nodded. "That was the whole point, remember?"

"Right. C'mon, let's go. Kakashi should be getting there by now." The ravenhead said with a laugh.

"HAHA! Right."

~~HJN~~

The two partners arrived at Training Ground 7 to find Sakura sleeping on the grass.

Sasuke scoffed. "Tck. Look at her. Doesn't even sense when there's someone near her in her sleep."

Naruto poked her with his foot. "Think she's dead?"

"If only. Look, her chest is moving. What little there is of it."

Naruto laughed. "It's too bad that /she thinks_ /more of her looks than her career. She's really smart, and she's got great chakra control. Every move I've seen her make was efficient./ _Five words in, he started speaking out loud, and through the link at once, two words later his mouth stopped moving.

It was at this point Kakashi appeared, excuse ready and rehearsed. But once again, Naruto stopped him. "Kakashi-sensei, Sakura fell asleep because you were so late."

The Jounin blinked. "Well, then, we'd better wake her up. Naruto, make some clones and Henge them into gangsters."

Naruto quickly got the idea, and grinned. While Sasuke pulled a smelling salt out of his pouch, he had six clones turn into big, burly men, complete with dirty street clothes. One of the clones took the smelling salt and waved it under her nose. When Sakura's eyes started to flutter, the clone threw the block over his shoulder and Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi hid, giggling.

Sakura woke up to voices. "..Might be worth 20,000 in Iwa." "Well, who says we should sell her? We could keep her for ourselves." "Well, she is a ninja, so she ought to be able to take all kinds of abuse."

Her eyes flew open and found herself surrounded by large men in leather and jeans, all wearing lecherous grins. "Hey pretty pretty. You gonna get raped!"

She screemed. It was really rather impressive, such a small girl could make such a big noise. Leaping up, she plunged a kunai into the nearest gangster, kicking two more in the crotch. The next one had its neck snapped, and the last two were grabbed and thrown with impressive strength into a boulder. This was all done before you could blink.

Then her face widened as they all exploded into smoke.

Naruto came out of the bushes, clapping. His eyes were wide, too. "Well done Sakura! Now see, if you just fought like that all the time, the three of us might respect you." Kakashi and Sasuke came out, as well.

Sakura rounded on Naruto, eyes flaming. "NARUTO! YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE?"

"HEY, HEY! It was Kakashi's idea!"

"Oh, thanks a lot …" The last word was stretched into a scream as a furious pinkette slugged Kakashi in the face, flying him into the woods.

"YOU PERV! YOU JUST WANTED TO SEE ME RAPED!"

_/She probably would have spread 'em if I had changed the clones into you./_

Sasuke had to cover his mouth to stifle the snort at that comment.

"Sasuke-kun? Naruto? What are you guys wearing?"

Kakashi materialized next to her. "Yes, I was going to ask the same."

Naruto and Sasuke grinned. Naruto brought his hands behind his head and leaned back. "We thought it would be a good idea to celebrate our partnership and reinstating of our clans."

Kakashi nodded. He pointedly noted the exchanged clan symbols, and secretly approved. "So team," he said, getting their attention, Sakura snapping from her stupor. "Shall we train?"

Sasuke interrupted. "Sensei, could you show us how to walk on water? Naruto and I have been trying, but there's something we're doing wrong."

Sakura laughed. "Oh, Sasuke. Naruto was playing with you. You can't walk on water, its physicall-"

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Sure, Sasuke. Though usually you learn how to walk on walls, first."

Sakura gaped at the males of the group. 'Nothing I've ever read talked about walking on walls, or water! What are they talking about?'

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we got that down. The water bit is taking a little longer, though."

Sasuke looked out over the field at the river. "We think there's some trick we're just not seeing, so could you show us?"

The son of the White Fang nodded. "First though, we should get Sakura up to speed with wall-walking. Team, come over here to the trees with me." He started walking over to the edge of the clearing, then up to the tallest tree. Reaching it, he kept walking and put one foot on the trunk. Lifting his other foot off the ground, Sakura gaped as Kakashi started walking UP the tree, his clothes hanging down slightly as gravity pulled on them. Sasuke and Naruto watched, unimpressed. "Now, Sakura, I want you to channel chakra to your feet. You'll need an exact amount gathered there. Too much, and you'll be launched off the tree and fall. Too little, and you'll slide right down. When you feel ready, get a running start and give it-"

Sakura was already running. Touching the tree, her foot stuck to the bark, and she kept running. 12 feet up, her foot stopped getting traction, and she fell to the ground.

Kakashi eye-smiled, once again vertical. "Very good, Sakura. That's more than most get on their first try. You seem to have a knack for chakra control. Keep at it, and if you need any help, just come ask me. Mark your progress, as you go, too. Naruto, Sasuke, show me how you're doing it now, and we'll go from there." Kakashi and the two boys walked over to the river, talking about the different techniques they've tried.

Sakura pulled out a kunai and ran at the tree again, determined to get done with this as soon as possible. Making contact, she focused. 'Not too hot, not too cold. Gotta be just right, Pinkielocks.' Once more, at 12 feet, Sakura's feet started slipping. 'NO! I can't let him down!' Sasuke's face flashed into her mind, and her feet stuck to the bark once more. A few feet up, they lost their grip again. 'My sensei believes in me!' Kakashi and Sasuke's faces burst into her mind for a moment, before fading. A few more feet, and she still had halfway to go. She could feel her feet gaining no traction, going purely by momentum at this point. 'They don't want a weakling on their team, I need to get stronger!' Naruto and Sasuke's faces filled her mind, and stayed there. They stayed there like a burning beacon in the dark. Her legs moved faster, her feet stuck to the trunk every time she put them down. The truck was getting thinner, she had already cut through all of the branches. Higher, higher she climbed, until finally she couldn't go any farther, stuck the kunai vertically into the top of the tree, and pushed off, flipping once and landing on the ground, breathing heavily. 'I did it… I did it!' "I DID IT! GUYS! GUYS, I DID IT! I MADE IT TO THE TOP!" She smiled and waved at them before collapsing, exhausted.

~*~HJN~*~

AN: WOO! This chapter was fun to write. Next to be updated: Blades of the Spirit. It's been a while, and that 7th chapter is almost done. You guys like my bit of Sakura at the end? I thought it was pretty good, kind of original, and probably something you might see in the anime, too. Maybe with some epic self-discovery battle music after the last mental sequence. Like when Naruto finally gets the Rasengan and uses it against Kabuto.

Ja ne~


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